A check is a written order directing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of currency to a payee. Checks are a common way for individuals and businesses to complete financial transactions using funds held in a transactional account at a financial institution. However, writing checks and depositing received checks can often be inconvenient compared to other payment methods, such as debit and credit card transactions. For example, writing a check typically requires an individual to enter a date, amount, and payee for each check. Depositing a check can be a greater hassle as an individual must deliver the received check to a location of the financial institution. Furthermore, a paper check can be easily lost between the time the check is received and the time that the payee is able to deposit the check.
Despite the inconveniences of completing transactions using paper checks and the availability of other mechanisms for exchanging currency, billions of checks are written each year, totaling trillions of dollars worth of transactions. As many people prefer the use of checks to complete financial transactions, it is desirable to provide a mechanism that simplifies the process of writing checks and depositing received checks.